The Forgotten Realms, the most popular setting in the D&D universe, is about to be completely reshaped by a year-long event – The Sundering – kicking-off today by Wizards of the Coast. Fans have the opportunity to impact the fate of the world through multiple expressions of the contemporary fantasy entertainment franchise, including tabletop RPG adventures, in-store play experiences, digital offerings including the first D&D free-to-play mobile game, 6 novels, digital reporting tools, comics, accessories and more. When the Sundering is complete, the results of these stunning events will have reshaped the Forgotten Realms forever, providing the landscape for future D&D stories.

The first Sundering novel, The Companions, The Sundering, Part I by R.A. Salvatore releases today.

Dungeons & Dragons Launches The Sundering;

Invites Fans of Fantasy Entertainment to Make Their Stories Legend

August 6, 2013 – RENTON, WA –The most popular setting in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, The Forgotten Realms, is about to be completely reshaped by an epic event announced today by Wizards of the Coast. The Sundering is an extensive story spanning multiple expressions of the contemporary fantasy entertainment franchise that offers fans the opportunity to impact the fate of the world along the way.

Key milestones in the year-long Sundering storyline will take place in iconic locations like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter and Icewind Dale, to name a few. The changes to the Forgotten Realms can be experienced through a series of novels, in-store play experiences, digital offerings, comics, accessories and tabletop RPG adventures. Through these expressions, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fans will be able to engage and impact the fate of the Forgotten Realms forever.

The Sundering kicks off today with the release of The Companions, The Sundering, Book I by New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore. His novel depicts the events of the Sundering as seen through the eyes of the world’s most well-known drow ranger, Drizzt Do’ Urden. Salvatore’s novel is part of collaboration with other New York Times bestselling authors who will each show the changes to the Realms from their heroes’ points of view.

“We are elated to begin this extremely exciting chapter in the history of D&D,” said Nathan Stewart, Dungeons & Dragons Brand Director at Wizards of the Coast. “Utilizing great digital entertainment, dramatic story-telling techniques and thrilling and immersive events, The Sundering ushers in a new era for the future of the franchise. We invite and encourage the legions of D&D adventurers to join us on this heroic adventure to change the canon of the Realms.”

When the Sundering is complete, the results of these stunning events will have reshaped the Forgotten Realms forever, providing the landscape for future D&D stories.

The Sundering includes:

– Play & Help Shape the Future

o Tabletop roleplaying gamers can experience The Sundering first-hand at weekly D&D Encounters in-store play events, where they will utilize a digital tool, the Sundering Adventurer’s Chronicle, to report the outcomes of their play experiences, connect with other players, and participate in activities designed to enhance their Sundering experience.

– Mobile Battles

o Arena of War, the first free-to-play D&D game on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices, is a thrilling 3D battle roleplaying game set in the Forgotten Realms. With modern mechanics like massive in-game events and multiplayer competitions, players are enlisted to battle in a modern-day fight against good and evil to help set the balance of power before the Sundering is complete.

– Realms-Shattering Novels

o The most celebrated Forgotten Realms authors have collaborated on a series of six novels: R.A. Salvatore (The Companions), Paul Kemp (The Godborn), Erin Evans (The Adversary), Troy Denning (The Sentinel), Richard Lee Byers (The Reaver) and Ed Greenwood (The Herald). Each novel tells a self-contained story featuring both new and well-loved characters set against the background of the unfolding events that are reshaping the world, beginning with the New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore’s The Companions, The Sundering, Book I, releasing today – August 6th.

Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. Wizards’ players and fans are members of a global community bound together by their love of both digital gaming and in-person play. The company brings to market a range of gaming experiences under powerful brand names such as MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and KAIJUDO. Wizards is also a publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information about our world renowned brands, visit the Wizards of the Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.

According to internal NSA documents viewed by SPIEGEL, these on-call digital plumbers are involved in many sensitive operations conducted by American intelligence agencies. TAO’s area of operations ranges from counterterrorism to cyber attacks to traditional espionage. The documents reveal just how diversified the tools at TAO’s disposal have become — and also how it exploits the technical weaknesses of the IT industry, from Microsoft to Cisco and Huawei, to carry out its discreet and efficient attacks.

The unit is “akin to the wunderkind of the US intelligence community,” says Matthew Aid, a historian who specializes in the history of the NSA. “Getting the ungettable” is the NSA’s own description of its duties. “It is not about the quantity produced but the quality of intelligence that is important,” one former TAO chief wrote, describing her work in a document. The paper seen by SPIEGEL quotes the former unit head stating that TAO has contributed “some of the most significant intelligence our country has ever seen.” The unit, it goes on, has “access to our very hardest targets.”

It is topics like these that Lumpy and Brian often discuss on Tech Net News and Opinion which airs Monday’s from 8-10 PM EST. Feel free to join us in geekshed.net IRC in #indienation. We encourage listener participation and having listeners on the air.

“The domain of the sun’s magnetic influence (also known as the ‘heliosphere’) extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field’s polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space.”

Through Gamer Goggles News – 6-4-2013

The music in this week’s podcast is by Brother Love. You can find him at brotherloverocks.com. We must caution the listener not to go to brotherlove.com which currently re-directs you to Brother brand printing supplies but, in the past, it was a porn site and is definitely not safe for work.

TGGN 5-28-2013 Heavy Gear Assault Edition

Today’s podcast featured the music of Chris Ayer. You can find Chris and more about him at BandCamp and FaceBook. In this episode Matt interviews a few of the folks behind Heavy Gear Assault. Below are some of the question they answer.

John what is your background?

What is the premise of HGA? or a run down of the game and the KS

Will there be faction representation for each of the major faction?

From the video it seems like some of the game will take place in an open battlefield, how does that fit in with the arena part of Heavy Gear arena?

What gears will we see available?

Do you foresee more gears in the future?

Does HGA stay true to the combat system of Heavy Gear?

What about the crowd? In Arena the crowd is a very important game mechanic, does it have a place in Heavy Gear?

When I first read the article, I though it would take some sensitive mics but, quoting the article

“Here, we describe a new acoustic cryptanalysis key extraction attack, applicable to GnuPG’s current implementation of RSA. The attack can extract full 4096-bit RSA decryption keys from laptop computers (of various models), within an hour, using the sound generated by the computer during the decryption of some chosen ciphertexts. We experimentally demonstrate that such attacks can be carried out, using either a plain mobile phone placed next to the computer, or a more sensitive microphone placed 4 meters away.”

Here, we describe a new acoustic cryptanalysis key extraction
attack, applicable to GnuPG’s current implementation of RSA. The attack can
extract full 4096-bit RSA decryption keys from laptop computers (of various
models), within an hour, using the sound generated by the computer during
the decryption of some chosen ciphertexts. We experimentally demonstrate
that such attacks can be carried out, using either a plain mobile phone
placed next to the computer, or a more sensitive microphone placed 4 meters
away.

Through Gamer Goggles News – 5-21-2013

Pod 9 is excited to see the world of Heavy Gear brought to life with
incredible Unreal Engine 4 graphics. The team assembled for making this
come true includes former key members of the Heavy Gear II team and Mektek
Studios. The team is committed to bringing out the best game out in the
genre, and they need your help! Join us in making this project a reality,
and be a part of bringing Heavy Gear back into video games!

Mischievous Maniacs to Star in New 5-Issue Series from Dynamite Entertainment

REDMOND, WA (May 20, 2013): Paizo Publishing, LLC, publisher of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (RPG), and Dynamite Entertainment, announce today the much-adored and feared goblins of Pathfinder will get their own comic book series.

Each book of the 5-issue monthly series, Pathfinder: Goblins!, will feature two goblin-themed short stories by different creative teams. Issue #1 includes “The One-Eyed Goblin is King,” written by Adam Warren with art by Carlos Gomez, and “Prize Pupil,” written by Paizo Publisher Erik Mona an illustrated by Shane White.

“A goblin horde stormed the offices of Paizo, demanding we chronicle their adventures from a goblin point of view,” says Paizo Publisher Erik Mona, as he tends to a small nick from a dull dog-slicer. “With the threats of what they would do to our pets hanging over us, we had no choice but to transcribe the tales of the goblins.”

The goblins from Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG are pint-sized psychopaths, wreaking havoc across the land. Infamous for unpredictable attacks, catchy raiding songs, hatred of dogs, and fear of horses, goblins blend mischief and murderousness like no other monsters. Since they first appeared, Pathfinder goblins have starred in numerous adventures and game supplements, as well as miniatures, plush toys, and other merchandise.

Dynamite Entertainment also publishes the Pathfinder comic series featuring the iconic characters of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The graphic novel, Dark Waters Rising, collects the first 6 issues in a hardbound book and was released last week. Issue #7 also hit stands last week.

Subscribers to Pathfinder comics through paizo.com receive a 20% discount off the cover price, 15% off back and special issues, a special subscriber tag for the paizo.com messageboards, and a limited-edition collectible paizo.com exclusive cover for each issue. Pathfinder comics are also available in local comic shops, and digital versions are available at comixology.com.

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game builds on more than 10 years of system development and the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming to create an unparalleled fantasy roleplaying experience. Players need only the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook to play, but Paizo Publishing produces a wide range of books and accessories to enhance your Pathfinder experience, from hardcover rules compendiums to complete campaigns to packets of beautiful full-color maps. For more information, visit paizo.com.

About Dynamite Entertainment

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, Green Hornet, Vampirella, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, Game of Thrones and more! In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and best selling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Alex Ross, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Michael Avon Oeming, Mel Rubi, Marc Guggenheim, Stephen Sadowski, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner and a host of up and coming new talent!

DYNAMITE is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles—including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s PROJECT SUPERPOWERS—have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. Several of their titles have also hit The New York Times Best-Sellers list: The Boys, Vampirella Archives, Robert Jordan’s New Spring and Wheel of Time graphic novels. In 2005 Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%). The company has also been nominated for several industry awards, including the prestigious Eisner Award.

About Paizo Publishing

Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo’s Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is currently the best-selling tabletop roleplaying game in hobby stores. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the ten years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than 50 major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Spotlight on Symfinity and Intangible Dreams

Lumpy was completely blown away when he first checked out the first full length album by the five piece band, Symfinity. If you like symphonic rock music mixed and recorded technically as well as composed, as in both excellent, you’ll love this album, Intangible Dreams.

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